Fire-and-forget

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Fire-and-forget is a third-generation method of missile guidance. The military use the term for a type of missile which does not require further guidance after launch such as illumination of the target, and can hit its target without the launcher being in line of sight of the target. This is an important property for a projectile to have, since a person or vehicle that lingers near the target to guide the missile (using, for instance, a laser designator) is vulnerable to attack and unable to carry out other tasks.

Generally, information about the target is programmed into the missile just prior to launch. This can include coordinates, radar measurements (including velocity), or an IR image of the target. After it is fired, the missile guides itself by some combination of gyroscopes and accelerometers, GPS, organic RADAR, and infrared optics. Some systems offer the option of either continued input from the launch platform or fire-and-forget.

[edit] Examples

PARS 3 LR fire-and-forget missile of the German Army
PARS 3 LR fire-and-forget missile of the German Army

[edit] See also

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (October 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.
Military stub This military article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
 This guided missile-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.